A Virginia Tech official in 2006 praised the defeat of a proposal to allow students with state-issued concealed handgun permits to carry their handguns on college campuses in Virginia. At least 20 unarmed students were killed on the VA Tech campus Monday morning by a single gunman. Virginia House Bill 1572 was proposed in 2005 by Shenandoah County, Va., Republican Del. Todd Gilbert after a VA Tech student with a state-issued concealed handgun permit was arrested and charged only with "unlawfully" carrying a handgun on campus. The bill would have prohibited state universities in Virginia from enacting "rules or regulations limiting or abridging the ability of a student who possesses a valid concealed handgun permit ... from lawfully carrying a concealed handgun."

After the proposal died in the state's House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety, The Roanoke Times quoted VA Tech spokesman Larry Hincker as celebrating the defeat of the bill. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions," Hincker said on Jan. 31, 2006, "because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

Following Monday's multiple-victim shooting at VA Tech, Erich Pratt with Virginia-based Gun Owners of America called that philosophy "idiocy." "I think gun control advocates will say, 'See, we need more gun control,' even though this is exactly the product of gun control," Pratt said.

Currently, only Utah has a statute specifically authorizing law-abiding individuals with concealed handgun permits to possess their firearms on state university property. Most other states have explicit or implied prohibitions. "Every school campus [other than those in Utah] in this nation is a 'gun free zone,' supposedly," Pratt bemoaned. "But, isn't it amazing that criminals, bad guys never obey those laws."

Regarding Utah, Pratt adds, "Isn't it interesting that that's the one state where we haven't heard of any school shootings." At least two school shootings have been stopped by armed civilians before police arrived:

· January 9, 2002, Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va. - 43 year old Peter Odighizuwa, who had flunked out of the small law school earlier in the week killed three people and wounded three others. Two law students - Tracy Bridges and Ted Besen - retreived a handgun from Bridges' vehicle and held Odighizuwa at gun point for several minutes before police arrived. (Bridges was a reserve deputy sheriff, but was not on duty at the time of the incident.)

· October 1, 1997, Pearl High School, Pearl, Ms. - 16 year old Luke Woodham carried a rifle onto the school campus, killed his ex-girlfriend and one of her friends and wounded seven other people. Assisstant Principal Joel Myrick retreived a handgun from his truck and held Woodham for police. It was later learned that the teeneager had beaten and stabbed his own mother to death before the attack at the school.

Pratt is not optimistic, however, that lawmakers will allow public university students and faculty members to protect themselves from mass murderers like the one who struck VA Tech Monday. "The only schools and universities where these tragedies have been stopped abruptly were the places where law-abiding citizens had a gun that was accessible to them and they were able to stop the shooter," Pratt noted. "The schools and universities that had to wait for the police to arrive, those are the ones that find these high death tolls.

"It's just a real shame," he concluded, "that these guys never get it."

” Increased security of people trained to use these weapons should be looked into first.”

Look, most people have been brain washed into thinking that the “police” will come and save the day - well, that only happens on TV. And from my generation, having grown up in a rugged area of the country, my view of the “police” is that of Barney Phyfe, not Rambo, and from recent observations there is no need for this to change.

I had earlier posted my hunch that the shooter was indeed an Islamist (student, most likely) and if you check out post # 50 on this thread, LibLieSlayer reported that he heard a radio report that that was true, though still unconfirmed.

The cause of death was some wacko with a couple of hand guns. Don't make it into something it isn't.

Virginia has a concealed carry law. However, it is suspended at VA Tech, thanks to liberal minds who for some reason believe that a college campus is immune from the dangers that exist in the rest of society (and that guns are by their very nature evil).

Tech also differs from elite colleges, where it is unusual to meet anyone who grew up on a farm or in a rural environment. Lots of kids in Virginia grow up in rural environments. It's not unusual for them to get their first guns at a fairly young age. By the time they go off to Tech some of them are no doubt expert marksmen.

There were hundreds of kids in that dorm this morning. At least a few were probably quite capable of using a firearm. If only they had been allowed to have one in their possession, there probably wouldnt be 32 people dead at the other side of campus.

The above is how I see what happened. Of course, some will disagree.

85
posted on 04/16/2007 3:15:55 PM PDT
by freespirited
(Resentment, redistribution, and re-education. The three Rs of liberalism.)

I’m one person who won’t be disagreeing with you. I live in a rural part of Virginia. There was a headline update on the online version of our twice weekly local rag.....none of the folks from this area who attend VT were among those injured or killed.

86
posted on 04/16/2007 3:23:24 PM PDT
by Gabz
(I like mine with lettuce and tomato, heinz57 and french-fried potatoes)

Then don’t fire at the person unless you’re closer than 15 feet. If you have a gun, you MUST use your head. I’m all for training. No, not everyone should have a gun. About half the people are just too emotional to handle having a gun. And the cops should be better at accessing a situation. If you demand training for gun owners, then it won’t be a wild-west shootout. If a killer is shooting and civilians return fire, no, they won’t hit each other. But I say again, you have a right to be alive. A God-given right IMHO. Not cowered in corner waiting for death. Ayn Rand was right.

I listened to the Lars Larson Oregon show discuss the shooting today. He has a national show in the evening. He said Oregon’s concealed carry law was written to specifically prohibit local authorities from passing ordinances or administrative rules prohibiting lawful carry on public property like school campuses. Sheriffs and school administrators go ahead and write up the rules anyway and have to be continually slapped down.

There were hundreds of kids in that dorm this morning. At least a few were probably quite capable of using a firearm. If only they had been allowed to have one in their possession, there probably wouldnt be 32 people dead at the other side of campus

The VA Tech idiot Larry Hincker has the blood of innocent people on his hands...

...as well as all the VA legislators who voted to pass the ban. I say publish their names and give them some grief for their foolhardy votes. They should bear some responsibility and be held accountable for their votes to ban.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.